Abstract

In Egypt, from the early twentieth century until the 1950s, the gesture of baring the body became politicized. This article looks at how women activists and artists mobilized denuding in their repertoire of actions and rhetorical strategies, for nationalist or feminist purposes. It offers a chrono-thematic overview of the issues related to female corporality, brought centre stage by Egyptian women writers and painters. Looking first at the early period, up to the 1920s, the study reflects on the presence of the female body in the street : visible, mobilized and revealed for the “wellbeing of humanity”. It then considers the 1920s and 1930s, when baring the body in sports and on the beach was seen as useful for the “good” of the nation. Finally, it analyzes the relationship between nudity as “beautiful” and Egyptian society from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. in the arts, fashion and beauty contests.